balta1701-A

Cutler with a limited practice today, does seem on track to face the Vikings.

All I know is my gut says maybe.

The only way that LB is the #1 priority for this team is if Urlacher retires or is let go...which would be silly on the part of the team if he wants to come back for another year.

There is an app that runs this type of message board in an effective way...but it would take a heckuva lot of coding to set up. If someone here had those skills and the time to do so, we'd be interested in talking.

A team going into the playoffs isn't going to change OC's in week 13. True recipe for disaster there. And if the team isn't going into the playoffs...then the coaching staff won't be back anyway.

We could go in a lot more depth on this...I think the right reply is "I'm not sure you're not wrong, but it's impossible to say for sure with the support the QB has gotten". I think Cutler could be doing a lot of things better. His decision making has been slow, he's been way to slow to get rid of the ball, he waits way too long to see if a deep route develops, he's usually good for one "what in the world were you thinking" throw per game and he hesitates to make use of his feet and get out of the pocket while trying to make something happen. But that said...when the O line isn't giving him time, when the running game isn't there, when the TE can't catch, when the coaches don't call plays to move the chains or get him out of the pocket, and when Marshall is his only option who is playing well, you can only hang so much on him. So yeah, Cutler might be part of the problem...but if you can't change the other things, then it's hard to say that you can get better by changing from Cutler to anything else.

FWIW, the Bears' most popular setup this season so far has been the cover-1/single high safety setup.

Positive sounding news on the Cutlerwatch.

Colin Kaepernick.

Sneaking into the playoffs and a first round exit would definitely be a disappointment. The question on the staff in that case might well be how the GM feels about his coaching staff and whether someone like Tice gets served up as a sacrifice. (Oh, and I don't know that Jeff Fisher's problem in Tennessee was as much having worn out his welcome as it was that his last high caliber team got old and expensive and had to be broken down for cap reasons, and then the owner demanded that the next team had to be built up around Vince Young, which failed. Doesn't mean a coach can't wear out his welcome...if you want a better example right now go after Philly...but I think in TN that was much more the ownership insisting on Vince Young and no one being able to coach him).

Campbell is on a 1 year deal according to the Google, so I wouldn't say that QB depth is useless for the Bears. In fact, I might well put it up there with middle linebacker depth, depending on what happens with Urlacher's contract before the draft next offseason and whether or not he finishes the season healthy. If the Bears staff, whoever that is, likes a middle-of-the-draft QB next year, and can get him in round 3-5, then that's a reasonable use of resources. It frees up a couple million that could be spent in free agency and doesn't remove the Bears' ability to add O-Line players in the upper rounds. Either money in free agency or a draft pick is going to have to be spent on the QB position for the Bears next offseason, if for no other reason than their current backup QB isn't under contract.

In a reversal, Smith will not play tonight, ruled out on continuing concussion symptoms. This was despite him taking most of the first team snaps during the week. Kapernick both starting and having not taken first team snaps seems to send a small advantage back to the Bears. If you're betting on the game, take the under, whatever it is, because points are going to be hard to come by unless the defense does it.

They need to do what they're good at. Play Bears football. Don't fumble the ball, move the chains a few times running the football, get the ball to Marshall a few times, play field position, and force a turnover somewhere along the lines.

Problem with that is..."The intensity of the hit" isn't the only thing that determines how long a guy is out. You can give a guy a serious concussion with a legal hit, and you can have a guy miss no time after the hardest illegal hit of the season.

The nfl did suspend one guy on the broncos earlier this year for a hit on Matt Schaub that knocked him out...but it was a hit that came the week after he was fined for a roughing the passer penalty, so it was a repeat performance.

I'm not sure I'd have much of a problem if this is how he came out against San Fran. It'd work too, if the TE could catch the ball.

I have no issue with "first offense = fine, second offense = harsher".

Peyton Manning's throwing motion is just so incredibly quick it's actually fun to watch. It's watching a master, from the snap through the decision through the end of his throw, it's lightning.

Alex Smith passed his concussion tests and has been cleared to practice and play next Monday.

The problem is, there's really no hard data at all on "How many concussions is too many" and "What are the other factors". For some guys it might be their first or seconde concussion that leaves them feeling symptoms forever (see: Justin Morneau). Other guys might be able to have dozens and still be ok mentally. There really isn't good science to evaluate that question, and it's going to be a long time before there is. What the NFL really needs to do is make sure these guys have their mental health taken care of after they retire. It needs to be a part of their post-league life, part of the pension system, that these guys get access to mental health professionals, maybe even as a condition for their participation in the pension plan. If Jay winds up in a place where the symptoms continue longer than they should, for weeks or months, then yeah, he should give that serious thought. Without that, there's no way to judge whether the next concussion will be the one that really causes serious problems or not, and frankly, if everyone in the NFL who should be worried about this problem retired...the NFL wouldn't exist any more, because they all ought to be worried that their next concussion will be the one that damages things severely.

Dobbins reportedly fined $30k.

I think the other receivers are playing that poorly and there's lots of examples, even recent ones. From the #2-#3 options...one of them is a rookie, and that rookie has missed just under 1/2 the season so far. So he hasn't had a major impact. The #3 option...he's supposed to be a slot/possession guy, but he also...missed a large chunk of the season. The #4 threat...the deep guy...he's actually had the ball get to him, repeatedly, down the field...but he has failed to drag the ball in on plays where things could have been caught. The Houston game is a great example...he catches the 2 deep balls that he had a good chance to catch, and that's a totally different game. And the main "receiving tight end"....well, at this point, someone is probably laughing at that phrase. So out of the non-Marshall receivers, you've got one who keeps having the ball go off his hands deep, 2 who have each missed 1/2 the season so far, and a TE that's been a joke.

To be fair...Bush would have been a good fit to try here, but he did fumble his first carry. Perhaps they just had no confidence in him in those conditions?

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere this morning that this was like Cutler's 6th concussion. It wasn't so bad that he even immediately reacted. I'll go on a limb and say I think Cutler plays next week. Also, that probably isn't a suspension unless he's a repeat offender but no way that hit doesn't get a fine. Terrible technique, that's "Leading with your helmet" to a T, and there was literally no effort to tackle the person any other way (arms are back, rather than extended, face is aimed downward to use the helmet as a ramming object rather than to see the guy you're trying to tackle).

Hester had the ball hit off his hands on the deep ball at least twice that I saw. At least one of those should have been caught by a reasonable WR. They weren't completely wide open, but they weren't uncatchable by any means.